Notice
by Anibee2481
Summary: Togusa is depressed knowing Section Nine is disbanded. Will he receive a sign from someone he knows or is he meant to drown in his sorrows?


_Hi again! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy with my first year of college. I took a break from studying for exams and this is what came out. I hope you like it, and that you'll read my ongoing story when I can finally finish the first chapter. Don't read this if you haven't seen the last three episodes of Stand Alone Complex, as it spoils some of the ending. This one is about Togusa and his thoughts when Section Nine disbanded and he was left behind. It may be different from the series, but, in my opinion, it would have worked just as well! _

_Notice_

Life just sucked. Not only did he not know where his partners were, but he also had to sit around playing the unemployed husband._ Where the hell is everybody? Why haven't they contacted me? They probably don't care, or assume everything will be fine, as they always did. One little notice was all I wanted, but nothing came. Just three months of living hell._

Togusa was sitting on the couch in his apartment pondering, once again, where the rest of Section Nine was and what role they were making him play. _Will they ever come back? Have they forgotten about me on purpose?_ It always came back to the same questions; the ones he couldn't answer.

His family didn't seem to mind about him being unemployed. As long as he was safe, everything was fine. But it wasn't. The first fifteen days in jail were bad enough, and now he was facing already three months of complete silence and loneliness. Sure, he had his family to keep him occupied, but that didn't stop him from missing his 'friends'. The group may not have been the perfect pals for Togusa, but they suited him just fine. He had grown attached, and they became part of his family as time went by. Togusa depended on them, and he couldn't live without them.

After the endless searching he still hadn't found a trace of the other members, and he was growing desperate. He'd stay out late looking for some sort of clue until he'd fall asleep for hours. They were his life, he decided, and it was necessary to get them back. Still, nothing appeared to him. It was as if they were hiding things from him on purpose, not wanting him to know anything.

It was them, however, who didn't know anything. The cyborgs couldn't understand the deep feelings of humans, and would never understand Togusa's feelings. They couldn't imagine he would fall into a deep depression, or feel sadness and sorrow. It seemed Togusa was the only one with feelings at all sometimes, save for Batou, who showed his softer side once in a while.

Like the first time Togusa tried to kill himself. They weren't getting along, everything was escalating, and he couldn't keep dealing with all his screw-ups that weren't even his fault, not to mention the harassments he kept getting. Major was still inside the net at that time, and missed the whole conflict. Batou had yelled at him, screaming loud and clear that he was no match for this world and couldn't handle the situations that arose. Basically, the cyborg told the human he was weak, and why Major would pick him in the first place was beyond him. Togusa was shocked, but merely turned away from Batou and walked towards home. He took a detour, however, and found himself on top of the highest bridge in Japan in the middle of the night. He wasn't even thinking, looking at the deep black water hundreds of feet under him. As he grabbed the pole, getting ready to lean out the other side, a strong hand pulled his arm back and forced him backwards until he slammed into another body. Batou had come looking for him, and was ready to hit Togusa for being so stupid, until he saw Togusa's tears. He realized Togusa was hurt, and ready to throw away everything after what he said to him.

For some unknown reason, the cyborg pulled the human close and gently hugged him. It was as if he was apologizing to his little brother after a fight. Batou realized how fragile humans were that day, and from then on he and Togusa became best friends; so much they were considered brothers.

Togusa, however, wondered where Batou was now. He had gone back to that same bridge, when he couldn't take it anymore after finding nothing on his co-workers at Section Nine. His partner never came, and he even stood closer to the edge that time. He didn't jump though, because he couldn't lose hope that somewhere the rest of his 'family' was waiting for him, but couldn't let him know where they were. After everything, he still found himself sitting on the same couch as before, his hair messed up, scruffy from not shaving so much, wearing some army shirt and jeans, and having absolutely nothing to do.

_Time to start looking for a new job_, he thought. _Maybe then I can still go out looking for them, or hope they'll contact me when the time is right_. Still, he wanted it to be sooner than later, and by now he was getting so frustrated he thought he might do something crazy.

Picking up the newspaper, Togusa started looking through the want ads. Nothing exciting caught his eye. He assumed it was because he loved high action jobs that nothing appeared to satisfy his craving. Jobs were wanted for clothing stores, law firms, restaurants, machinery stores, and even simple small town bars. For some reason though, one with bartending caught his eye.

**Bartender wanted: alcohol license needed, must be trustworthy and observant. No underage teens allowed.**

Like Togusa would go into bartending. He hardly even drank, since he knew the cyborgs could hold their alcohol and he couldn't. That last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself. Yet he couldn't look away from the ad. What was it that was bothering him so? Was it some sort of code? He tried looking at it differently, keeping in mind the first letter of each line.

**Bartender Wanted:**

**Alcohol License Needed, Must Be**

**Trustworthy And**

**Observant. No**

**Underage Teens Allowed.**

Then it hit him.

BATOU!

Holy shit! He couldn't believe it! Batou was alive! How in the hell did he know Togusa would look here? Of course he knew, they always seemed to know damn well everything! That was what he needed, even a simple message, just to know that someone was okay, and that was what he got. All he needed to do now was find out exactly where they were.

Damn that cyborg! He knew he should have kept his distance. But what else could he do? Humans attach themselves to things, and he and Batou sure weren't separated.

At least he got his notice. Maybe things would be looking up after all.

_Hurray! I hope you enjoyed it! I was going for more of a brotherly relationship between Batou and Togusa here, as I get that feeling sometimes when I watch the show. I did change a few things around, like adding the bridge scene, but it felt like it fit when I wrote it. I was joking when I said things would be looking up because he was looking down when he was going to jump off the bridge and that, well, things never really seem to look up when you work with Section Nine, do they? _

_I sort of got the idea when Togusa actually did look in the newspaper for new job, and with a little help from a "loony" friend! I figured Togusa looked depressed and even though he did get most of the episode to himself, I feel it didn't do him enough justice, even though I LOVE Crispin Freeman's voice! _

_Anyway I get out of school next week and I hope to have the first chapter of Force Your Way finished by the end of it. It's going to be a long haul, so if you want continued stories then please read it! Thanks again and I'll talk to you next time around. Keep watching 2nd Gig!_

_ Mi-chan_


End file.
